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There are 46 chromosomes in human stomatic cells but only 23 in a human sex cell what happens if the number of chromosomes does not reduce before sexual reproduction.

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User Heyarne
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Final answer:

Chromosome number reduction during meiosis is vital to ensure that offspring have the correct number of chromosomes. Without this halving, each generation would double its chromosome count, leading to genetic disorders.

Step-by-step explanation:

Importance of Chromosome Number Reduction in Sexual Reproduction

In human sexual reproduction, somatic cells are diploid, containing 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs, which include both autosomal and sex chromosomes. Gametes, which are sperm and egg cells, are haploid and have 23 single chromosomes. The process of meiosis is crucial because it halves the chromosome number in gametes, ensuring that when fertilization occurs, the resulting zygote has the correct number of chromosomes, which is 46 or 23 pairs. If the chromosome number does not reduce before reproduction, the offspring would have double the necessary amount of chromosomes, leading to an incorrect ploidy level and potentially severe genetic disorders.

The reduction of chromosome number during the production of gametes prevents the doubling of chromosome sets in each generation, maintaining the species' chromosome number. A failure in this process would result in a continual increase in the chromosome number, which is incompatible with life.

User Bartosz Pietraszko
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Answer:

Meiosis

Step-by-step explanation:

Because Meiosis creates cells that are destined to be gametes (reproductive cells), this reduction in chromosome number is critical without it. The union of two gametes during fertilization would result in offspring with twice the normal number of chromosomes

User Kandra
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